Review article
Promoting the mental health of children and youth in educational settings
Lucija Tomac Cvitković
orcid.org/0000-0002-2329-7068
; Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The importance of studying mental health and organizing activities for its promotion is highlighted in both national and international literature, approached from various perspectives. A review of scientific literature published between 2017 and 2024 was conducted using the Google Scholar database, along with guidelines from relevant organizations such as the WHO and UNICEF. The initial search yielded three papers in Croatian and 212 papers in English. A total of 20 English-language papers were included in the final analysis, while none of the Croatian papers met the criteria. Therefore, for the context of the Republic of Croatia, the Strategic Framework for the Development of Mental Health until 2023 and the Curriculum for the Interdisciplinary Topic of Health for Primary and Secondary Schools were used. The analysis emphasized the collaboration between educational and health institutions, the development of preventive programs and interventions, and the provision of mental health services within the educational setting, alongside the emerging role of digital environments in such activities. In Croatia, a universal curricular approach is applied, such as the interdisciplinary topic Health, which defines learning outcomes and themes but does not provide clear guidelines regarding the roles of individual stakeholders in its implementation.
Keywords
mental health; mental health promotion; pedagogical aspects of mental health promotion; prevention; educational context
Hrčak ID:
335180
URI
Publication date:
30.7.2025.
Visits: 312 *